Last week at Nelson House

Last Sunday was the first of the practical beekeeping sessions at the West Norfolk & King's Lynn training apiary.

Training apiary

Now it may look like a benign day in the photograph but what you can't see are the winds that were a steady 30 mph and gusting 50. The bees weren't going out in that and if we'd opened up the hives they would have been blown away and may not have been able to return. However there were lots of other things to learn so we went up to the rather smart portacabin for some hands on demonstrations.

First was how to light, and keep lit, your smoker. This is very important to keep your bees quiet.

Lighting the smoker

It is not, as I had initially thought, the smoke itself that subdues the bees. Bees are originally from Africa where forest fires are common. When the bees sense smoke their instinct is to save the colony and to do this they need food and so they glut on honey. And like all of us after a heavy meal we feel a bit dozy and slow down a bit.

Smoking equipment

Our other project was assembling frames of which there are two types - those that hold the brood and where the queen lays the eggs and smaller ones where the honey is stored. They come flat pack and have to be assembled (apparently this is how I will be spending my winter evenings!). Fortunately my upholstery skills came in useful when hammering in the small tacks.

Frame assembling

While I was away with the bees Andrew started the really tricky floor tiling in the wet room. This is a challenging job as the tiles have to go in the drainer, there is a slight slope on the floor so that water will drain, we have put down underfloor heating and to add to his problems we decided on a diamond bond as the room is L-shaped and this works best. He was very even tempered as several tiles were broken in the attempt to get some very complicated cuts done. But his perseverance paid off.

Tricky tiling

Tuesday was a glorious day and we took advantage of the longer evenings and snuck off early to Old Hunstanton beach.

Old Hunstanton beach

Mortimer was delighted with his first evening trip of the season.

Mortimer enjoying himself

The view while we ate our fish & chips

We were introduced to Toby, Patricia and David's new trainée guide dog puppy.

Toby

And spotted this rather odd nesting site by a local pigeon.

Pigeon nest

And finally, although it's not quite finished, we're really enjoying meals in the refurbished garden from.

Not a bad week :-)

Too darn hot!

No, this isn't a post about the hot weather that we're experiencing here in the U.K, it's way more convoluted than that. Just stay with me…

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/444589794434790019/

Andrew and I both enjoy the Rick Stein food travel programmes and we've been re-watching the Spain series on the BBC iPlayer. One of the things he's been raving about is Spanish bread, those lovely crusty, chewy loaves with the big holes. Like this:

http://www.elclubdelpan.com/es/formulas/formula_entusiasta/pan-grande-con-masa-madre

So I went in search of a recipe and this one from the Hairy Bikers seemed to fit the bill, promising chewiness and that slightly sourdough taste I was after. I'm a competent bread maker and love baking so off I went, making the starter in advance, kneading & stretching, stretching & kneading. It looked and smelled good when it came out of the oven but I was disappointed. It tasted great but it didn't have the holes and chewiness I wanted. So if anyone out there has a perfect recipe or technique tips then please let me know.

Looks OK

Not what I'd hoped

All this watching of Spanish food put me in mind of my brief recce into Andalusian property that I undertook at the beginning of the year (remember all that cold,wet weather we had? I was drawn to the sunshine and colours of the south). Was I wrong to be considering northern France? Was my heart really in the olive and orange groves of Spain? One town that I had really fallen for was Iznajar, a pretty town by a lake, good for tourism and a great location. I had another look and found this for €55,000 (£45500 at current exchange rates) in excellent condition. Who could resist?

Iznajar property for sale

I started to persuade myself that we could sell up, buy a couple of properties to rent out and live a simple life in the sunshine. Sunshine I thought - what's the weather like there now?

At 7 p.m. - yes it's in centigrade

At this point my dreams fell apart, there's no way I could live here. Anything over 25c I start to go limp,  I can't do it. I really think I'm just a northern European at heart. I stopped my Andalusian property search and went back to Montreuil, so much nicer. So there we have it, just too darn hot.

Talking of hot, Mortimer cooled off on the beach the other evening. Anyone want to give a home to this horrible hound?

Wet & sandy - but happy!